Rocket Pride in Laredo

By Blake Hurtik :
November 10, 2012

Laredo Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Marcus Nelson, right, wears his Nixon Mustangs shirt as he walks with Jonathan Rodriguez, left to right, Jorge Salazar, Ricardo Bernal, and Manuel Rodriguez (behind Nelson), all members of the Nixon freshman football team. Nelson, in his third year as superintendent, is a graduate of Judson High School and played football wearing #77. He has a jersey with his number, for every high school team in LISD. Friday, Oct. 5, 2012.

LAREDO — It is impossible for Dr. Marcus Nelson to get lost in a crowd in this city.

The Laredo ISD superintendent is an African American who serves a school district that is 99.2 percent Hispanic. Just 0.1 percent of the 24,682 students are African American, according to 2010 data.

Then there's his physical size. Nelson, a former offensive lineman at Judson High School and later at Abilene Christian University, is 6-foot-4 and 350 pounds.

As an outsider, Nelson has spent a lot of time earning people's trust.

The quickest way was through athletics. Nelson, 39, has revamped LISD's athletic programs with the goal of increasing test scores and keeping students away from the drug gangs that have taken hold in Nuevo Laredo.

"We've got a dark side in our schools. They don't play athletics, though. They run the streets," said Nelson, who previously was assistant superintendent at Judson ISD. "We have to get (the kids) involved."

So far, Nelson's approach seems to be working. Graduation rates have risen in each of his three years while dropout rates have fallen. The athletic teams, while dropping down from Class 5A to 4A, have increased participation numbers.

Nelson hired new football coaches and band directors at all three LISD high schools. Shirley Field, which was built in 1937, was completely renovated and reopened last year.

"If you're going to transform your high schools, you have to start with athletics," Nelson said. "Not everybody has to go to state, but you've got to put a product on the field that puts people in the stands, that makes people proud."

Nelson still draws from lessons he learned as a player at Judson. He still quotes legendary coach D.W. Rutledge. A framed photo of Rutledge hangs in his office.

His 1989 state championship ring has earned him plenty of respect.

"When he got here, people didn't know what to do with him," longtime Laredo sports writer Nuno Sciaraffa said. "Then they found out he knew football."

For Nixon High School's homecoming, Nelson wore a custom-made Nixon basketball jersey with the No. 77 — the same number he wore at Judson — emblazoned across the front. He had one made for each LISD high school.

As he walked down the sideline, he stopped to mingle with students and wave to parents.